Haircuts for the deceased, begun in Mie, now offered across Chubu

People who have lost their loved ones are increasingly turning to services offered by barbers and hairstylists to apply makeup to the deceased and give them a final haircut.

One such service, started more than a decade ago by a barber in the town of Toin, Mie Prefecture, has since prompted barbers and hairstylists in other prefectures across the Chubu region to cooperate in offering such services, all aiming to make the deceased look the way they used to and allow families to spend a final moment with their loved one.

Tatsumi Oyama, 63, began offering final haircuts for the deceased in October 2010. He came up with the idea after styling the hair of his wife’s dead father before he was put in a coffin.